by Zoom is laying off about 1,300 employees and reducing its workforce by about 15 percent. Microsoft is the latest to be hit by widespread Big Tech layoffs, joining a number of other companies including Amazon, Meta and PayPal.
The mass layoffs were announced in a blog post by Zoom founder and CEO Eric Yuan.(Opens in a new tab) On Tuesday, stating that affected employees in the US will be notified via email within 30 minutes of publication. Released non-US employees will be notified in accordance with their local laws.
“For those Zoomies who wake up with this news or read this after normal business hours, I’m sorry you found out this way, but we thought it best to inform all affected Zoomies as soon as possible,” Yuan said.
The sudden release of tech workers via email has sadly become a common scenario over the past few months, with a different company apparently announcing a mass layoff every week. Yuan noted that leaving Zoom employees will have the option to check-in one-on-one with a company leader if they wish, but it probably won’t lessen the pain much.
Full-time Zoom employees laid off in the US will receive up to 16 weeks of salary and health insurance, as well as annual bonuses, six-month stock options and access to services designed to help them find new jobs. work. International employees will receive similar benefits, again taking into account local requirements.
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Zoom surged in popularity at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as businesses started working remotely and countries were in lockdown, millions of people turned to the video conferencing tool. Yuan noted that Zoom has tripled in size in just two years and is bringing in new staff to meet the unexpected influx of customers.
But Zoom’s growth and revenue slowed as lockdowns lifted and employees began returning to the office. This, coupled with increased expenses, saw the company’s net profit(Opens in a new tab) drops significantly. As of November, Zoom’s share value has dropped more than 90 percent.(Opens in a new tab) Since its peak in October 2022.
“We haven’t taken as much time as necessary to thoroughly analyze our teams or assess whether we’re growing sustainably toward the highest priorities,” Yuan wrote in Tuesday’s blog post.
Yuan also announced that he will make a temporary cut in his salary, reduce his salary by 98 percent and receive a bonus this fiscal year. Similarly, the executive leadership team’s salaries will be reduced by 20 percent this fiscal year and will not receive bonuses.
“As the CEO and founder of Zoom, I am responsible for these mistakes and the actions we take today, and I want to show responsibility not only in words but also in my own actions,” Yuan said.
Zoom’s next earnings call will be held later this month, when the company will release its financial results for the full fiscal year 2023.
